The war on drugs began 100 years ago today: Let’s hope it doesn’t last another century December 16, 2014 One hundred years ago today, President Woodrow Wilson approved the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, the US’s first national legislation designed to control the manufacture, import and supply of opium and cocaine. Francis Burton Harrison, a Democrat representative, did little more than give his name to the law. The heavy lifting was done by Dr Hamilton [...]
Chelsea V Swansea spread betting September 11, 2014 IT’S NO surprise to see title favourites Chelsea sitting atop the Premier League, but a few eyebrows would have been raised if you’d suggested that last year’s 12th, Swansea, would be fighting for top-spot, having also claimed three wins from three. The two sides face off at Stamford Bridge tomorrow and you might be surprised [...]
Indivior IPO: Reckitt Benckiser splits off addiction unit November 17, 2014 Addiction treatment firm Indivior is set to join the FTSE100 as parent Reckitt Benckiser yesterday said it would float the business as a separate entity. However, the drug business may not remain listed in London for long – 80 per cent of its revenues come from the US, and its chief executive Shaun Thaxter expects [...]
This press release sums up everything that’s wrong with the UK’s house price obsession February 18, 2014 If there's a blindspot in the UK's collective understanding of economics – house prices is certainly it. In no other area would we so excitedly greet news of rising prices. That public relations officers feel we should want to applaud news of house prices well above their pre-crisis high is an insult. "Like chinks of sunlight, [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: George Osborne scraps stamp duty slabs December 3, 2014 George Osborne's Autumn Statement unveiled a raft of measures in an intensely political statement aimed at luring voters back from Ukip during next year's general election. His centrepiece? A complete overhaul of stamp duty which, he said, will create savings for 98 per cent of home buyers. To cheers from the Tory back benches, Osborne [...]
Focus on Victoria: Grab a prime bargain in SW1 November 27, 2014 Victoria has long been a place of work, but it’s been a while since it’s been a place to live. Dominated by a mixture of grey government office blocks and its various transport hubs, it certainly doesn’t fit the desirable London village trend. But that may be about to change. Developer Land Securities [...]
Soaring number of low deposit mortgage deals February 24, 2014 NEW FIGURES released this morning suggest that the number of products for the highest loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages has tripled since the surprise launch of the second phase of Help to Buy in October. The number of products available for buyers with only a five per cent deposit has soared from 43 to 132 in less [...]
The Eurozone is not likely to survive its own Japanese-style lost decade November 13, 2014 BEFORE the fiscal and monetary stimulus of “Abenomics”, Japan was afflicted with a chronic economic sickness. Crippled by excess private sector savings, it fell into deflation in the 1990s, despite very low nominal interest rates. Today, it is often suggested that the Eurozone is experiencing a similar malaise. Prior to the autumn, the leaders of [...]
Carney backs big bonuses for top successful bankers February 17, 2014 SENIOR bankers should get big bonuses as long as the money is spread out over several years and can be clawed back if they make mistakes, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said yesterday. His argument runs counter to much of the criticism of high pay for bankers, as he favours the payouts when they [...]
Carney could scrap Help to Buy next year January 8, 2014 GEORGE Osborne’s flagship Help to Buy mortgage scheme could be shot down by Mark Carney in the coming 18 months, top bank analysts said yesterday, as the booming housing market gathers pace. The chancellor wants the scheme, which supports house buyers with small deposits, to last for three years. But if the housing market overheats [...]